Woman Jailed For Failing To Delete Facebook Account

You know it’s a bad day when a judge decides you need to spend some time behind bars because you didn’t delete your Facebook account. Is having a Facebook page now a crime? It seems that if you irk the wrong judge in the state of Kentucky, it just might be.

And just how do you get a judge to revoke your Facebook privileges? Paula Asher incurred the wrath of the law for a flippant status remark she wrote about her DUI, and subsequent car accident, which involved four teenagers. This is what the Facebook felon (maybe it was only a misdemeanor, but felon sounds better) wrote:

My dumb (insert bad word here) got a dui and I hit a car…lol."

After Paula posted the comment online, a judge, at the behest of the parents of the teenagers hurt in the accident, ordered her to delete her Facebook page. Ms. Asher apologized for her drunken behavior, and for causing the crash, but she neglected to delete her Facebook account.

The judge, Mary Jane Phelps, was none too pleased with Paula’s defiance, and as a result, ordered her to serve two days in jail, stating that the offending woman was in contempt of court.

Since there wasn’t any specific law referred to when Judge Phelps ordered Paula to delete her account, the defendant might be able to fight against the court’s decision on the grounds that being forced to delete her Facebook page violates her First Amendment rights to free speech.

Regardless of the outcome, Paula didn’t think the use of “lol” would have landed her in jail. She apologized profusely for her actions in person and in court, just not on Facebook –- at least, not yet.